Centenary Athletics: Weekly Recap
Centenary athletics had another successful week. Let's recap all of it here.
Shreveport - Centenary athletics had another successful week. Let's recap all of it here.
The men's basketball team swept a pair of SCAC contests at home over Colorado College on Monday and Tuesday, by scores of 59-43 and 51-37 to improve to 6-2 on the season. Centenary made history on Tuesday night by allowing just 37 points, which marks the fewest points scored by an opponent in the history of the Gold Dome (1970-present). The previous low was by the University of Dallas in a 57-39 Gents win on Dec. 18, 2018. The 37 points also marks the fewest number of points allowed by the Maroon and White in the division III era (2012-present).
Centenary is now an impressive 16-2 in its last 18 conference games dating back to Jan. 25, 2020 and won for the eighth time in its last nine home games. Centenary, which went 10-1 at home last season, is now 13-2 in its last 15 games at the Gold Dome.
The Gents entered Monday's game as one of the top defensive clubs in the SCAC, ranking first in turnover margin, third in the conference in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense, and fourth in steals, and they certainly proved why against the Tigers the last two nights. Centenary came into Monday's game allowing just 67.0 points per game and allowed a season-low 43 points, then besting that on Tuesday by allowing only 37 points, marking a new season-low. Centenary has held three opponents to 52 points or less this season.
The men's golf team opened its season with a fifth-place finish at the Alamo City Classic in San Antonio on Tuesday. The Gents finished at 20-over par 588 for the two-day event, after finishing Monday's two rounds in a tie for fifth place after shooting a 7-over par 291. Sophomore Richard Polan (Brno, Czech Republic) was the Gents' top individual as she shot a 2-over par 144 for the tournament to place 10th overall. He fired an even-par round of 71 on Tuesday after opening the tournament with a 2-over 73 on Monday. Centenary freshman Ricky Blair (Bossier City, La.) tied for 15th place in his Gents debut, finishing at 4-over par 146 after shooting rounds of 71-75. Centenary will next face Hendrix on Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. at the Club at Huntington Park
The baseball team opened its season with a dominating 6-1 win over Louisiana College at home on Tuesday afternoon and then finished the week unbeaten as the Gents beat East Texas Baptist University, 7-4, on Friday. With Friday's win over ETBU, the Gents have now won 11 of their last 15 games dating back to last season and are now 5-1 in their last six home games. Centenary pitching has been superb through the season's first two games, allowing just one earned run in 18 innings with only three walks and 14 strikeouts. The offense has been equally as impressive, collecting 25 hits and 13 runs. The Gents have now collected at least 10 hits in a game in eleven of their last 15 games dating back to last season.
The Centenary Ladies gymnastics team finished third in the Metroplex Challenge on Saturday evening as they competed against Oklahoma and Texas Woman's University at the Fort Worth Convention Center as eight Centenary gymnasts recorded career-high scores. Ladies' Junior All-American Kendall Sanders (Spring Branch, Texas) continued her impressive start to the season as she finished second overall in the all-around with a new career-high score of 38.575, second to Oklahoma's Anastasia Webb's 39.725. Sanders' previous best score in the all-around was a 38.525 set last season. Sanders scored a new career high 9.750 on vault on Saturday, a 9.700 on floor, a 9.575 on bars, and a 9.550 on beam. Sophomore Lauryn Stiff (Branson, Mo.) had a successful meet as she recorded a pair of new career-high scores on vault (9.625) and on floor (9.45). Sanders' career-best 9.750 on vault landed her in a 10th-place tie in the event with her teammate, sophomore Kendall Huff (Riviera, Texas), for whom the score was also a new career-high mark. Huff's previous best on vault was a 9.675 set last week. Junior Kendall Knaps (Prairieville, La.) placed 11th (9.675), and Sanders finished 13th with a score of 9.575. Knaps' score was a new career-high. Sophomore Kennedy Stephens (Bella Vista, Ark.) was Centenary's top finisher on beam as she set a new career high with a score of 9.650. Freshman Courtney Tripp (Bridge Creek, Okla.) earned a career-best score on vault (9.55) and sophomore Rose Deshler (Hastings, Minn.) recorded a career-high score (9.475) on floor.
The Centenary men's and women's swimming teams each completed three days of competition at the 2021 SCAC Championships on Saturday in San Antonio as both the Ladies and Gents placed fourth. The Gents earned 359 total points while the Ladies finished with 477.
Junior (Miguel Vasquez (Lafayette, La.) put an exclamation point on his superb weekend by being named the 2021 SCAC Men's Swimming & Diving Elite 19 award winner at the conclusion of the championships. Established prior to the 2018-19 academic year and meant to recognize the best of the best within each conference sponsored-sport as it relates to both academic and athletic achievement, the SCAC Elite 19 is awarded to the student-athlete who has completed the equivalent of at least 60 credit hours at his or her current institution and has at least a cumulative 3.25 GPA. The student-athlete must also have earned All-SCAC First, Second or Third Team honors in his/her sport for that particular season.
Vasquez currently holds a 4.00 GPA in theoretical mathematics. He earned all-SCAC honors in three individual events during the weekend: the 100 butterfly, the 100 backstroke and the 100 freestyle, and was a member of both the All-SCAC 200 and 400 medley relay teams. He won the 100 fly on Friday, swimming a career-best time of 50.89 as he became the first Centenary male swimmer to win an individual title since 2014 when a pair of former Gents, Austin Butler and Juan Tapia, claimed wins in the 200 Free and 400 IM respectively. Vasquez earned all-conference honors for his performance on Friday after earning them as a freshman in 2019 in the 100-Yard Backstroke and as a part of three relay teams. Vasquez also earned a runner-up finish in the 100 back on Friday, as he swam a time of 51.03. He finished third in the 100 free on Saturday, as he swam a time of 46.39.
Junior Mitchell Lulich (New Orleans, La.) earned all-conference honors on Friday with his runner-up finish in the 100-Yard Breaststroke, as he swam a time of 58:31. Centenary's team of Vasquez, junior Ricky LaFleur (Lafayette, La.), Lulich, and senior Chris Reese (Alexandria, La.) placed third in the finals of the 400-Yard Medley Relay (3:33.13) and 200 Medley Relay (1:35.83) on Friday to earn all-conference honors.
The Ladies, who enjoyed a historic day on Friday to enter the final day of competition in third place, finished ahead of Austin College (324), University of the Ozarks (275), and McMurry University (187).
Junior Brianna Serret (Alexandria, La.) had a superb finish to her season this weekend as she won the 100-Yard Backstroke on Friday with a time of 59.29, marking the program's first individual win in the event and just the third individual win by a Centenary Ladies swimmer at the SCAC Championships since the Maroon and White joined the conference prior to the 2012-13 season. She edged Trinity's Caroline North by seven seconds to claim the victory and secure all-conference honors for the second-straight season. The previous two individual wins by the Ladies were Haley Schneider in 2013 in the 100 butterfly, 57.04, and Rachel Olson in the 200 butterfly in 2014 with a time of 2:06.34. Serret also earned a third-place finish in the 100 Yard Butterfly, swimming it in a time of 58:30, to earn all-conference honors.
The Ladies did exceptionally well in the 100-yard Breaststroke, as three swimmers placed in the top 10. Junior Kaylin Swoboda (New Orleans) earned all-conference honors as she recorded a runner-up finish to Southwestern's Erghan Hartsell, swimming a time of 1:06.37. Centenary's team of Swoboda, Harrison, Serret, and Frederick placed third in the finals of the 200 Yard Medley Relay, swimming a time of 1:51.42 to earn all-conference honors in the event. Swoboda had the Ladies' best finish of the day on Friday's first day of competition, placing third in the 200 Yard IM to earn all-conference honors as she swam a time of 2:13.01.
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